


Stray Isles

by raviiel



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Actual Characterization, Adventure, Canon Compliant (Mostly), Canon Rewrite, Friendship, Gen, Novelization, POV Multiple, Worldbuilding, in this house kairi has a personality, liberties are taken and few fucks are given, mostly just details and personality editing nothing big plot twisty i guess, the writer is a soriku fucker and it shows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2019-11-16 01:21:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18084677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raviiel/pseuds/raviiel
Summary: Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Taiyou live idyllic lives on the beautiful chain of tropical isles known as Destiny Islands. Day in and day out, they dream of worlds beyond their own and eventually concoct a plan to travel beyond, farther than anyone has ever dared to before.Fate seems to have its own plan.





	1. halcyon daze beside the idyllic ocean waves

"Sweet."

She gets off her knees and tosses a chunk of chalky stone to the side. Her palms dust against her knees and then plant on her hips for her to admire her work; it's not one of her best, but it's enough to calm her nerves and that's what counts.

It's another crude drawing in a long line of silly others etched onto the smooth boulders that make up the walls of the cave. A corner of her lips quirks; they're the work of many years by she and her friends, fueled by dreams that have always been a little too wild to keep locked inside their overactive imaginations. Most of them are from a time they spent day in and day out in make-believe worlds, pretending to be heroes and royalty, explorers of the sky and sea and everything in between.

The _ma_ _rohu,_ they call it. _Where dreams_ _gather_ _._ There's no other place like this in the world.

Since they're older now, they don't spend as much time here to do much of anything....But lately, she's been sneaking in alone to relieve her troubled mind with stray stones and any free space she can find.

_I've been having these weird dreams, lately…_

The drawing pulls her eyes back to it. Unkempt grass and overgrown tropical flowers surround a door, forced opened by light pouring out of it. Drawing or not, that light would probably be enough to blind someone. She glances at the real door to her right.

_Like…_

_Do you ever really know what's on the other side of a door?_

It's closed. There's no knob; no knob, no handle, no way to open it. In fact, it resembles a board that someone built into the wall to be decoration—but she knows better. They all do. None of them have tried to open it, but they've all wanted to. They've probably all sat here and stared at it and thought,

_I'll never come back._

But the years have gone by and no one has figured it out. She presses her lips together, folding her arms over her chest and eyeing it warily.

Years have gone by, and it's never opened.

Probably because it's not supposed to be.

Her breathing shudders. What she sees when she looks at it… makes her feel cold.

 _Stay closed,_ she thinks, _Stay closed. Forever._

"Winning a staring contest with it probably won't make it open."

She screeches.

Heart rate fast enough to break a world record, she spins around.

 _"Kairi!"_ she shouts. The girl in question is covering her face as her shoulders shake with shameless laughter.

"I'm _sorry,"_ she chortles, definitely not sorry at all, "you just looked so serious standing there! I didn't know you could sit still for more than five seconds."

Scowling, she marches right up to Kairi to sling an arm around her waist, and her fingers go to work. Kairi bursts into furious giggles, begging and breaths for mercy between them as she's tickled.

"Taiyou, _nooo!_ Stop!"

"Revenge!" Taiyou declares, and they end up rolling around on the cave ground.

Minutes later, both of them are sprawled on the floor and panting, staring up at the rocky ceiling with breathless laughter still in their lungs. Taiyou turns her head.

"Were you looking for me?"

"Sort of…" Kairi replies, not looking back for still trying to catch her breath.

"Oh, lemme guess… You were looking for Sora, huh?" Taiyou grins.

"You caught me."

She hums playfully. "He's probably off snoozin' somewhere. You know how he is."

They laugh together, but Kairi trails off quicker. As soon as Taiyou doesn't hear her anymore, she looks over again with raised eyebrows.

"Something wrong?"

Kairi shakes her head and then sits up. Taiyou lifts hers and then heaves upward too. They both look at the door.

"Are you still having nightmares about it?" Kairi asks, but Taiyou doesn't hear it.

"Huh?"

Kairi shakes her head before getting up. Frowning, Taiyou watches.

"I think… it'll be okay," she says, but before Taiyou can ask what she means, she goes on. "I'm going to find Sora now. Don't hang around here too long! We've all got work to do, you know." She mischievously nudges Taiyou's shoulder with her knee.

"Okay, okay." Taiyou groans. Giggles follow Kairi all the way out of the cave.

As soon as she's alone again, Taiyou looks back at her drawing of the door. It's so much nicer than the real deal.

Huffing, she slaps her cheeks a few times and shakes away the bleakness. What's the point in being down about things that aren't even real?

 _They're just nightmares,_ she tells herself exasperatedly, and then gets up too. She dusts off her hands and pointedly turns away from the door, just to show how much it doesn't bug her. At all. She is completely unbothered. And if she crawls out of the cave a little faster than usual, then nobody has to know.

Tucked in the corner of the cave and hidden by an overgrown tree root stands a cloaked figure. They watch her leave.

 

_"Ahh…"_

Sunlight envelops her the moment she emerges. She gets to her feet and inhales a breath of that fresh island air, relishing the moment with arms stretched up high. The cave is much cooler, but it doesn't beat out the sun on her skin and the sea breeze against her face that tickles her nostrils and sprinkles saltiness on her tongue. No other feeling in the whole wide world compares.

"You just gonna stand there and laze in the sun all day?"

Taiyou's arms flop down as her eyelids flutter open. Silver hair gleaming in the sun, Riku stands below the short ridge with a fist to his hip and a cocked eyebrow. Hoisted on his shoulder by his other arm is a log (probably to beat Sora awake if he really _is_ off sleeping somewhere).

"Can I?" She grins, cheeky.

He rolls his eyes. "Sure, but you can kiss your captain privileges goodbye."

She gasps and hops off the ledge to point a finger right in his face. "You _wouldn't."_

He snorts, looking away with smugly closed eyes and a smirk. "I had the second-longest drawing straw. I can usurp you anytime I want."

"You'll have to have to pry it from my cold dead hands." She glares.

He turns towards the beach and starts walking, and Taiyou has to dodge down to avoid being smacked in the head by his log. "I'm sure that can be arranged," he teases.

She pauses for a second, and then her brain catches up. "Are you _threatening_ me?"

"Seems to be the only way to get you to do anything," he says, scanning the beach. _"There_ they are…" He sighs. "Hey!"

Taiyou catches up to see who he's talking about and promptly spies Kairi near the shore, hanging over someone else.

"Aren't you guys forgetting about us?" Riku asks the two. "This one over here is stuck in a daydream, so I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." He tosses the log and with a yelp, the other boy catches it, tumbling over in the process. Riku walks to Kairi and puts his hands on his hips. "You're just as lazy as he is!"

Kairi laughs, ruffling the back of her head but not at all sheepish. "So you noticed. Okay," she bounces on the balls of her feet as Riku plops down next to the other, "we'll finish it together. Let's race!"

"What, are you kidding?" Riku asks.

Taiyou finally joins them. "What, you scared of losing?" She grins with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, right." He snorts, and then looks thoughtful before smirking mischievously. "Let's make a bet."

The other three of them perk up at the word _bet,_ the one single word that gets them on guard and ready to throw everything at the wall to win.

"Stakes?" she asks, squatting to stretch out her legs.

Riku's smirk grows. "Whoever wins gets to be captain."

"Me, I'm gonna win!"

Taiyou's eyes widen. "Hey, uncool! We drew straws and I picked the longest, fair and square!" She turns to their third friend, and points cattily. "And if you think you're gonna win, _So-ra,_ then you got another thing comin'!"

 _"Now_ who's afraid of losing?" Riku mocks. She glares at him again.

Kairi laughs between the two of them. "Okay, okay!" She claps her hands. "On my mark…"

 

"Whew." Taiyou blows her black bangs from her face and reaches up to tighten her side ponytail. "There, it's done," she calls down to the other three, talking about the sailcloth newly secured to the mast she and Riku mounted today. It swells proudly in the wind, showing off the work they did in sewing it together.

Sunset has finally begun to fade in after the endless hours the four of them have spent putting together a raft. It's a simple enough construct—in no way living up to the glory of their ancestors' canoes that were used to traverse the world and discover new lands, but not so shabby that it would bring them shame either. The important thing is that it stays afloat! And they've tested the base more than once; water doesn't even leak through. They've done a pretty good job, if she says so herself.

The raft (more like _The Raft,_ they refer to it with such reverence) is their life's work; the accumulation of so many dreams and fantasies of other worlds beyond their own, where they travel farther and wider than anyone else has dared to before them. There has to be more out there than just these islands, more to see and do and experience, and it's all they've _dreamed of_ ever since the night a mystical meteor shower brought them their fourth piece.

"Should we call it a day?" Kairi asks, pausing from fiddling with seashells and twine.

Taiyou swings downward from her legs hooked around the T-shaped mast as Riku wipes sweat from his brow and stands to admire their dreams finally come to life.

"Yeah," he replies, "and then tomorrow we can put on the finishing touches and decide its name."

"We should make a list," Sora suggests, and dodges under Taiyou's swinging hair to start gathering their working supplies and tools. Riku nods in agreement.

"Everyone come up with some names tonight then and we'll write them down tomorrow."

"And whoever's name gets picked, they get to…" Taiyou flips down and screws her mouth to the side in thought, "order the others around for the rest of the day."

"Always a game to win with you, huh?" he asks.

Taiyou scoffs. "Don't act like you don't wanna show the rest of us up like _always."_

"Wouldn't ordering everyone else around be the captain's job?" Sora asks as the four of them naturally begin to drift towards the old shack.

Kairi laughs. "We don't have a real captain anymore, 'member?" She holds open the rickety door while they carry their tools inside and store them in empty wood boxes and ramshackle chests. "That way we won't fight with each other." She begins to lead the way up the well-worn stairs.

"Us? Not fight?" Taiyou says, being the second to follow her up.

"Bold of you to assume we ever get along," Riku snarks.

"Hey, hey!" Sora interjects, racing past them and spinning around once he reaches the top. "We wouldn't be best friends if we didn't, huh, huuuh?"

They laugh and end up dashing over the bridge to the small island rising out of the sand and sea. Sora leaps onto the crooked tree with leaves and star-shaped fruit dangling over the water, Taiyou slides under it, they both boost Kairi up next to Sora, and Riku simply goes around the trunk to rest against it with crossed arms. They relax like that for a little while, basking in the soothing warmth of the sunset that has painted the sky orange and yellow and pink, reflecting like a rippling mirror on the ocean surface. Sora is the first to break the tranquil silence.

"So… Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" His spread legs swing over the trunk. Kairi plants her hands on her knees and bends towards the sunset. Taiyou tilts her head back at them.

"Could be," Riku replies, "We'll never know by staying here."

"Buuut… How far could a raft take us?" Sora asks, leaning around Kairi to look at him.

"Who knows?" He shrugs a hand, not looking back over. "If we have to, we'll think of something else."

"Something else, huh?" Taiyou asks, pulling her legs in and holding her ankles. "What, we gonna try building a rocket next?" She rolls out of the way of the foot that kicks at her, flopping onto her stomach with a cheeky grin.

Kairi giggles at them, but then says, "So, suppose you get to another world… What would you do there?"

Riku's head tilts down and he hums. "Well… Haven't really thought about it." He props one leg back against the tree trunk, and Sora begins to rock back and forth further up. Deeper pinks and the beginnings of purple are starting to spill across the sky and clouds. Riku looks towards it.

"It's just… I've always wondered why we're here on _this_ island. If there are any other worlds out there, why'd we end up on this one?" His questions are punctuated by crying gulls and crashing waves. "And suppose there _are_ other worlds… Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. We could've just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?" He looks at the rest of them.

Sora flops onto the curved trunk, folding his arms behind his head. "I dunno."

Taiyou blinks and sees stars falling across the insides of her eyelids, some of them in the shape of little humans. "Yeah," she answers. "Yeah, I think so."

"Exactly," Riku says, pointing a finger at her. "That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing—it's the same old stuff, all the time…" He pushes off his rest and heads towards the ledge. Kairi shakes her head to herself, Sora looks at his back, and Taiyou plops her chin into her palms. "So… Let's go."

Silence follows, only filled by the sounds of the sky and sea. Kairi speaks up first.

"...You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?"

Riku doesn't immediately answer, but then turns back to look at her. "Thanks to you," he says, and Sora and Taiyou look at Kairi too, "If you hadn't come here, I probably never would've thought of any of this. Kairi… Thanks."

Taiyou chuckles. "Kinda a weird thing to thank her for, huh?" She rolls over again, tilting her head to look at him upside down. He doesn't honor her with a reply, so she turns to Kairi instead. "D'you… ever miss it?"

Sora sits up, excited at the new topic. "Yeah! What was your hometown like? Y'know, like, where you grew up."

Kairi's eyes go a little glassy as she gazes into the sky-stained ocean. "You guys always have sea water in your ears when I talk about this, I swear," she responds smartly.

Taiyou picks at an ear with a pinkie just to be flippant. "No water to be found here," she says, showing her completely dry finger. Riku and Sora follow in suit, and Kairi wrinkles her nose.

"Smart-alecks."

"Smart-aleck-ness begets smart-aleck-ness." Riku responds. Both Sora and Taiyou nod sagely.

Kairi sticks her tongue out at them but then shrugs. "I've told you guys before, I don't remember," she says lightly.

"Nothing at all?" Sora asks. They've had this conversation so many times, but Kairi is right; her answers are always the same.

"Nothing at all."

"You ever wanna go back…?"

She thinks on it for a moment, and then hops off the tree. She joins Riku at the ledge, taking care not to step on Taiyou still spread on the ground, and clasps her hands behind her back. They all watch her short auburn hair rustle in the wind. She hums.

"Well… I'm happy here."

Taiyou pushes off the ground and dusts off her cream-colored overalls, and they gaze into the distance.

"But you know… I wouldn't mind going to see it." She faces them, blocking the dying sunlight and smiling. "So what're we waiting for?"

 

As the last task of the day, the four of them huddle up to go over chores to finish tomorrow and supplies for the voyage. Evening is well set in by the time they're done, rich indigo and luscious blue cloaking the sky, only cut by glittering diamonds and a waning crescent. The moon will be gone tomorrow night with the beginning of a new cycle, and their departure is planned in accordance with it; the island elders always swore by a fruitful journey if it began the dawn after a new moon.

Lanterns dangling from their hands, they make their way back across the bridge and into the shack. Taiyou pauses when two pairs of footsteps are missing from behind them.

"Are they doing something?" Kairi asks, pushing open the ground door of the shack. They raise their lights to get a look at the bridge, but it's hard to see. Taiyou shrugs.

"They'll get down here when they're done. Me and you can just row back together if they take too long." She grins. Kairi grins right back, and they head for the docks.

"You wanted one, didn't you?" Riku asks on top the bridge, pointing at the star-shaped fruit Sora nearly dropped his own lantern to catch.

"A paopu fruit…?" Sora murmurs, looking at its waxy skin, vibrant even in the night.

"We've talked about the legend so many times, don't act like you don't know it." Riku snorts. "Don't tell me you don't believe it?"

"Of course I do!" Sora defends, fingers pressing into the waxy skin. "Is there anyone who doesn't?"

Riku huffs. "I wonder…" he murmurs, mostly to himself. "Imagine that, two people sharing a fruit and their destinies becoming intertwined. Pretty wild, huh? They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what." Smirking, he passes Sora on the bridge. "C'mon, I know you wanna try it."

Sora's brain flicks through several thoughts, each more embarrassing than the last, and he sputters. "Wh-What are you talking—"

Riku laughs, already at the top door of the shack. Sora tosses the fruit away like it's on fire. It plops into the ocean, bobbing from side to side. They race all the way down to the dock with their lights swaying in the dark like shooting stars across the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome! please enjoy my lifelong dream of sharing my OC's story with everyone else ; w ; i hope you'll leave a comment if you enjoy it. if you know [islands in the heart,](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17762576) this is the full adaption of that! i wasn't planning to do it so soon, but i couldn't help it. islands in the heart will instead become a place where i post excerpts that don't fit into the overall flow, but will still be part of the story! mostly just exploring different narratives from different perspectives :^)
> 
> thanks for reading!


	2. doors without knobs aren't meant to be opened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora shouts at weirdos in the corner, and the raft needs a name.

_No matter how hard she pushes, it won't stay closed. She may as well be made of feathers with how she can't even move it. The pressure from the other side is bursting, shoving at her without sign of letting up. She screams._

_"Stay CLOSED!"_

_And then it all stops. She collapses, exhausted. Her lungs burn. Tears stain her face. She wrenches her heavy head upwards to peer at the door through her bangs. It's still cracked open, but nothing comes in or out._

_"Is it over…?"_

_As if mocking her, a powerful vortex whirls to life and begins to devour everything. She shouts, hands scrambling for purchase against the ground. The wind sucks her legs into the air and whips her face with her hair. It's so loud that she can't hear herself think. The door is going to consume everything. Her. Her friends. The islands._

_Her fingers pop from the ground, one by one._

_"Don't let go!"_

_But she can't hold on. One hand loose. Three fingers left. Two fingers. One._

_And she's yanked._

  


_"This world has been connected."_

  


Taiyou starts awake, heart pounding, soaked in sweat. Her hands claw at her chest that feels like it's on fire as she gasps.

After making sure that she's real and in one piece, and looking out the window to make sure the _islands_ are in one piece, she flops back into bed. The back of her hand drags across her brow to wipe beaded sweat.

_Humid…_

Her skin is sticky, not helped by the fact that she sleeps with the window open right above her bed. She considers closing her eyes again to allow crashing waves and singing cicadas to lull her back to sleep, but then afterimages of the nightmare cut into the front of her mind. Her heart jumps. She swallows thickly.

...At least the sea breeze that the sea breathes is a solace.

Deeply inhaling and exhaling one last time for good measure, Taiyou drags herself up and props folded arms onto the windowsill. The sunlight lays on her skin and soothes her heartbeat. Her unfocused eyes track over the ocean, so vast that it's unfathomable. Her mind wanders. There's so much of this world that no one has seen yet, yet she aims farther still—farther than anyone has ever dared to go before.

_There's gotta be more out there._

Her face squishes into her arms.

_"Oyyy! Oulamo!"_

And pops right up again. Pushing onto locked elbows, Taiyou hangs half out the window to search the small beach below her cliff-situated house. Down by the dock, she spots Kairi and Riku, the former of which is waving with her good morning greeting. She waves a whole arm back.

"Oulamo!" she calls back. "Where's Sora?"

"Would you believe he's already on the island?"

"No way!"

Taiyou is ready to go and down there in a flash, nightmares shelved.

  


Is it rare for him to be the first awake and on the island? Yes, yes it is; but to be fair, he hardly slept last night. He can't be blamed, not when they're so close to finishing the raft and setting off.

Well… He'd be lying if he said that was the _only_ reason he couldn't sleep. Red tints his cheeks at the stone in his hand.

It's been a while since he's come inside the cave to draw anything, but kneeling on the ground and scratching something new, it feels like no time has passed at all. That's the best thing about this place: it's always the same, no matter what. He can glance around and see ghosts of their childhood running around and scrawling everywhere, and it warms him. This is a good place.

Turning back around, the rock point grinds against the wall, leaving behind a white trail that shapes into a tapered off tail like a shooting star. Art has never been his strong point, not like Kairi or Taiyou, but he likes to think that drawing is less about how good you are and more about how much you enjoy it.

The hand faces the crudely drawn head of Kairi from when they were kids, and when he finishes it, words leap back at him.

_"C'mon, I know you wanna try it."_

His nose wrinkles. What does _Riku_ know? Talking all big like that, like he doesn't want to try it too… Sora knows he does. Even though he acts all grown up and like these kinds of stories mean nothing, his attention has always been just as rapt as anyone else's when it comes to story time with an elder. Maybe if he wasn't such a dummy, Sora would want to share one with him too!

He gasps, slapping a hand over his rapidly heating face. Groaning, his hand drags down. He heaves a sigh and shakes those thoughts right out of his brain. Riku would never want to share one with _him._

A star begins taking shape in the hand, and he lets it distract him. At least Kairi would never make fun of him about it… Who wouldn't want to share a paopu with someone they cared a lot about? The scraping ground a little louder, wearing down the stone faster.

By the time he's finished, barely half of the stone is left. Coloring in the star and its hand-tail-thing _three_ times hadn't been totally necessary, but it did help him feel a little better. He leans back to admire his work. Even his ears are hot.

_It's just a drawing…_

Riku's teasing plays in his head again. Him calling Sora out like that was uncool, but who is Sora to deny being curious about it?

What's it like to be connected to someone for the rest of your life? Is it something like being connected to someone you've already known all your life? They've been at odds more and more lately (he thinks Riku thinks he hasn't noticed), but Riku has been, is, and always will be his best friend and person closest to him.

His fingers tap at the crown necklace in thought.

...There's lots of ways people can be connected forever.

Would Kairi even take the paopu from him if he tried? Embarrassment and sheepishness wobble in the line of his lips. It wouldn't be a big deal if she didn't—and he doesn't have the courage to offer her one right now, not outside the drawing of a wall, anyway.

A pebble kicks across the ground behind him, cutting his thoughts short. He jumps to his feet to spin around, heart racing.

"Who's there?" he demands, hoping he doesn't sound startled. If one of his friends caught him— _If Riku caught him—_

His eyes scan the cave and find nothing, thankfully. Okay, yes, the star is in a place anyone could get to and see, but it'd be better if someone found it when he's _not_ here.

Just as his shoulders relax, a voice rumbles throughout the cave. He gasps.

_"I've come to see the door to this world."_

"...Huh?"

His eyes strain to see into the darkest corners of the cave, darting at any shadow that moves, but he's alone. His heart pounds.

_"This world has been connected."_

The voice echoes even over his heart drumming in his ears. His hand curls tightly around the stone in his hand as his instincts argue about whether they should fight or fly.

_"Tied to the darkness… Soon to be completely eclipsed."_

What does any of that even _mean?_ He's rooted to the spot, stuck searching for a source that might not even exist. This is what sleep deprivation does to a person—he'll be going to be early tonight, that's for sure.

"Whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this!" He shakes his fist at emptiness, wishing he knew if he was actually talking to someone or not. Then, across the cave, tucked between curved wall and another protruding tree root, he discovers a cloaked figure. "Huh?"

Squinting, the thing that immediately jumps out to him is the large X emblazoned across the figure's chest. Chills slither through his body, prickling goosebumps on his skin at the sight of it.

"Where did you come from?" he demands, stamping a foot forward that's more bold than he feels.

The figure raises one covered arm but no hand appears from inside the heavy sleeve. It motions towards the board in the wall—the door.

_"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door."_

Ominous as that is, Sora's mind latches onto one word: _door._ He never once doubted Taiyou and her insistence that it was a door, but to have it confirmed is incredible! He's always suspected that it led to places beyond their imagination, and now, here's this weirdo, telling him so!

"You're from another world!" he says, hoping for more answers.

_"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."_

Sora scowls. "Oh, yeah?" He straightens, one hand going to his hip. "Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out of here and learn what's out there! Instead of being some weirdo telling me what I can't do!"

_"A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing."_

Several smart-aleck retorts hang at the tip of his tongue, but Sora makes the mistake of glancing at the door and then back to the corner—the figure is gone.

The cave breathes. Sora registers that his palms are sweaty and he's trembling. What the heck? What is he _scared_ for? His heart beats up the inside of his rib cage despite his self-ridicule.

All he can do is gawk at the empty corner and hope that the sinister drear knotting in the pit of his stomach doesn't mean much.

  


"Alright, Tai," Riku says as soon as they dock on the island. He lends a hand out to help Kairi out of the boat. "You're on Finding Sora Duty today."

"Oh, bogus!" Taiyou protests, index bending back to curve at Riku. "I was gonna look for flowers today!"

"Oh, yeah?" Kairi asks. "For what?"

At being questioned, she cans up a little. Her feet shuffle. "For… stuff…"

"Yeah, yeah," Riku waves a hand and starts walking, "you can look for them _after_ you find Sora."

She narrows her eyes, but Kairi giggles.

"If he's sleeping again, just knock him over the head, okay?" She knocks her knuckles softly against the front of Taiyou's shoulder. Taiyou heaves a heavy, put-upon sigh.

"Fiiine, I'll find him. You and Riku better not break the raft before we get back!"

"Me and Kai? No way," Riku says from near the middle of the beach, he and his superhuman hearing, "we're the _responsible_ ones."

Kairi begins to catch up. "Weren't you just calling me lazy yesterday?"

They make their way to the shack to gather their tools, beginning to bicker. Taiyou leaves dock too, shaking her head at them.

On the sand, she surveys the island and thumbs through all the places Sora could be hiding in. What's he been up to all morning? Him being up anytime before eleven A.M. when school isn't involved is a miracle, let alone the first up and at 'em.

Well, if there's any place to be found in, she knows just the one. That in mind, she sets off.

  


As predicted, Sora turns out to be inside the cave.

"Easy-peasy," Taiyou says to herself, getting off the ground from having to crawl. "Hey So—" She stops as soon as she notices him gaping at a space across the cave. Her eyes trace his line of sight but find nothing there, and she raises an eyebrow. "You good over there, bud?"

Sora exclaims.

"Taiyou!" He clutches at his chest, wide-eyed. "How long have you been there?"

"Just got here." She frowns, noticing his nervousness. "Something wrong?"

Floundering for words, he vaguely points in the direction he'd been staring in, as if trying to make sense of something. Taiyou's eyes flicker from him to where he'd been gaping and back, but she sees nothing other than the drawing she'd added yesterday afternoon.

Carefully, she approaches him and puts a light hand to his shoulder so he won't startle. He does anyway, and sympathy contorts her face.

"Did you s—" Sora cuts himself off, mind reeling. He shakes it out of his head. Maybe he'd just been hallucinating… or something. "...Never mind."

Taiyou presses her lips together to physically keep snark from slipping out; Sora really looks shaken up. Low blood sugar? Woke up too early? (Nightmares?) Deciding to ignore it, she leans to get a look at the piece of wall he's blocking after spotting the stone in his hand. He drew something new.

She's seen this doodle before—a Kairi head and a Sora head across from each other—but the shooting star is new.

"Ohhh," she says knowingly, nudging him in the side. "So that's how it is, huh?"

Turning to see what she's talking about, Sora's face goes beet-red. "No, it's not what it—!"

"Sure, sure." She waves a hand in front of her face. "Wait 'til I tell Riku about _this."_ She spins and starts hopping off towards the cave exit.

Sora chucks the rock away and chases after, panicked. "No, don't tell him!"

"Oh, yeah?" She ducks to start leaving.

"He'll never shut up about it!" Sora whines, following after. "And! And…"

"And…?"

Sora's next words are mumbled, not even the echo of the small space allowing her to hear. They rise on the other side of the tunnel. Sora grabs her shoulder.

"You gotta promise you won't tell!" His eyes, big and blue and gleaming in the sunlight, plead. She huffs a laugh and rolls her own.

"Fine, fine," she puts a finger to her lips, "no telling."

He relaxes all at once, grinning. "You're a real pal, Tai."

She snorts. "Sometimes I think I'm too nice for my own good." She lightly punches his shoulder. "C'mon, they're waiting for us. I think today's the day we finally finish up."

She hops off the ledge. Sora follows, but not before looking back at the hidden tunnel that leads to the cave. He thinks of two things:

Riku's feelings are too important to be hurt.

Who the heck was that guy in the cloak, and what did he _mean_ by all that?

  


Sora and Taiyou find Kairi and Riku sitting on the base of the Raft. Kairi is back to working on her seashell project, and Riku is writing down something on paper.

"Oh, finally," he says by way of greeting when they appear. "Thought _both_ of you decided to ditch us for a nap."

"Did you have to bonk him over the head?" Kairi asks, stringing two shells together.

"Bonk?" Sora says, and then crosses his arms in realization, looking away petulantly. "No way! I wasn't even napping!"

"Oh, yeah?" Riku says distractedly. "Then what _were_ you doing?"

Sora seizes up. "...Nothing…"

The two of them stop to look at him, Riku's gaze more suspicious than Kairi's, but then he shrugs.

"Whatever. Hey, get down here and tell me the names you came up with for the raft." He taps the paper with the eraser of the pencil. "Kai already told me hers."

Taiyou and Sora plop on either side of him to get a look at the paper. Ten different names are scrawled in Riku's clean but stylish print under two categories so far; one Kairi's (which has three), and one his (which has seven).

"Boy, Ri, you sure thought of a lot, huh?" Sora asks.

"And let me guess, you didn't think of any," he jokes.

"Did, too!"

By the time they're done listing, twenty names pile around the page that was always doomed to be too small (there _would've_ been room, if it hadn't been for Sora and Taiyou stealing the pencil in turns and doodling everywhere). Seven names belong to Riku, six belong to Taiyou, four to Sora, and three to Kairi.

"I didn't have to put as much effort in since I'm making something special," Kairi says shamelessly.

"Yeah? What is it?" Taiyou twists to plant her chin on Kairi's shoulder. She hides what's in her hands, though they've all already seen the shells and twine.

"A _secret."_

"Okay," Riku interrupts, tapping the paper with finality, "let's narrow this down."

After a lengthy selection process involving two arm wrestling matches, three staring contests, a game of slaps, one thumb war, and no less than two bodies getting dunked in the ocean, the survivors of the list are the _Highwind_ and the _Excalibur._ Of course, the options belonged to Riku and Sora respectively, leading to the group moving to the cove of the island to set up a final competition to decide the winner.

"Alright, I'm gonna lay down the obstacle course, so watch closely, 'kay?" Taiyou says, stretching.

"Don't make it too hard," Sora whines, "we all can't be sports stars like you!"

"I've seen you do a triple back flip by _accident,"_ she responds, "I don't wanna hear it from you."

"That was his body going into self-preservation mode," Riku jokes, "He would've died otherwise."

Sora sticks his tongue out at him.

"Show us how it's done, Taiyou!" Kairi cheers.

With a thumbs-up and a grin, Taiyou turns to face the cove at large. Her eyes quickly map a course before she sets off in an effortless sprint that traces it.

The cove's main feature is a dilapidated wooden structure that once served as a watchtower of sorts for seafarers of old when this small island was little more than a waypoint, complete with a huge fire pit that crowns it; leading up to the tower is an equally ancient and broken bridge. Taiyou plans her course around these things without worry since the bridge gaps never stopped them before (broken bones and colorful bruises to show for their shenanigans stand in nobody's way). She has faith that Sora and Riku can clear any path she lays out for them with ease. The question of it is, who will clear it _first?_

After a minute of weaving around wood and tangled flora and boulders, Taiyou ends up on the other side. She cups her hands around her mouth. "Did ya get all that?"

"Gimme a break, Tai!" Sora calls back in complaint.

"Oh, whatever! I went easy just for you!"

Back at the starting line, Kairi says, "I'll be the judge this time, okay? Remember, if you go too far from Taiyou's path, you're out. No physical contact either! The first person to slap her hand and then mine wins." She steps back so she won't hinder their start.

When she's out of earshot, Riku glances at Sora. "Let's make another bet."

"Huh?" Sora blinks at him.

"Not only does the winner get their name chosen, but they _also_ get to share a paopu with Kairi." He grins slyly.

The words take a moment to register, but once they do, heat floods Sora's face. A panicked hand flies up. "H-Hang on a sec, just wait a minute!"

"On my count," announces an oblivious Kairi from behind, and Sora doesn't have time to think about the outrageous thing Riku just threw at him, especially with what he did earlier today in the cave.

"Three… Two… One… _Go!"_

More at stake than just pride, two different goals for both of them, they shoot off like shots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in case context clues didn't tell you, _oulamo_ means 'good morning.' yes, i did give them their own language. yes, i am making it up as i go, but just know that said language is based in polynesian roots and i'm studying up as much as i can. no, 'oulamo' isn't a word that exists in any language, and if it is, that's coincidence :^)
> 
> beware, for this fic has tons of shipping fodder. did i mention i'm a soriku fucker? :^)))


	3. all dreams come true

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The raft gets a name, triggering Riku's chagrin, Taiyou is a training dummy, and bracelets were almost chokers.

"And in a major turn of events, Sora takes the cake!" Taiyou announces, rambunctiously kicking open the door that leads back to the main part of the island.

"I was really surprised." Kairi laughs. "Sora really looked like he was working triple time just to win."

Sora rubs a sheepish finger under his nose. "Yeah, well, Riku already won a race this week, so it's only right I won!"

Rolling his eyes, Riku pushes past them. "Lighten up, it's only a _name."_

Gaping, Sora points a finger. "But you said—!"

Riku rounds on them, sudden and sharp, stopping them in their tracks. The expression on his face flashes from threatening to a tepid glare.

"Said _what?"_

Blinking in bewilderment, Sora opens his mouth but closes it again and looks away. "...Never mind."

Kairi doesn't seem to notice, but a furrow flickers in Taiyou's brow as she glances between them. Had something happened while she was on the other side of the cove?

"Hmph."

Riku turns away and heads right for the raft, now named the _Excalibu_ _r._ Taiyou opens her mouth to say something, but Kairi speaks up to Sora first, snagging his attention from Riku's retreating back.

"Here's the stuff we still need. You're going to collect them, okay?" She hands him a list.

"Not Taiyou or you?" he asks, seeming to forget Riku's sudden sour mood. "Why just me?"

"Because, whiny baby, Taiyou still has to find her flowers!" Kairi smiles. "Right?"

She blinks, having forgotten about her flower hunt in all the hustle-and-bustle of the morning. "Right! Right, yeah, Sora, I gotta go find enough of them before the day's out. And Kai's gotta finish her project, too."

He scowls at both of them. "Fiiine, fine. I'll do all the hard work!" He begins to stalk off.

"Just think of it as making up for all the sleeping you do! And make sure you get fresh water this time instead of sea water!" Kairi calls after him. He looks over his shoulder to pull down a lower eyelid and stick out his tongue.

When he's gone, Taiyou glances at Riku again. He's checking and securing the ropes that hold the _Excalibur_ together, surly. She leans over to whisper in Kairi's ear.

"Is he mad…?"

As if she hadn't realized it, she looks at him too. "Oh… Maybe?"

"...Is it about the raft?"

"He's not that petty."

Taiyou sucks in a breath between her teeth, skeptical. Kairi giggles under her breath.

"I'm sure he's fine," she then says, tapping a finger against the pearly pendant of her necklace. "Let's just get all this stuff done, 'kay?"

Taiyou's mouth screws to the side, eyebrows knitting. Kairi says it's no big deal… so it probably isn't. She can ask him about it later if he's still upset.

 

The rest of the afternoon sees the four of them doing their own things, paths occasionally crossing and help being offered where it's needed. Sora ends up having to go to the most obscure places on the island to find the provisions Kairi listed, while Taiyou has to scale the trees and rocks that make up the island's foundation to find the flowers she's been looking for. Kairi finally finishes sewing her shells together, and Riku is confident that even the worst storm can't sink the _Excalibu_ _r._

Draped in vines, with an array of new scrapes and small cuts to show for her escapades, Taiyou returns to the raft with an armful of colorful flowers. Piled none too neatly at the side of the raft are the supplies Sora had gathered, but there's no Sora to be seen. Kairi isn't around, and Riku is missing too. She frowns but shrugs and settles down, ready to work on the garland she's been planning for the last few days—actually, since nightmares began to plague her.

She breathes deep through her nose, ignoring the jump of her heart.

Dreams like these are no laughing matter; for these to terrorize her again and again, so relentless… She can't make light of it. They're a bad omen, no ifs, ands, or buts about it, even if she doesn't want to openly admit it.

The nightmares haven't been about their voyage going badly; actually, they've had exactly nothing to do with the trip. Here is something else she doesn't want to admit: she'd prefer if they _were_ —because when it comes to that, at least she has the power to stop it, even if that upsets her friends. No… This is something much bigger than that.

The nightmares have been an impenetrable darkness swallowing the sky, smothering the clouds, the stars, the sun. The nightmares have been umbra, poisoning the ocean and dripping onto the land like acid. They've been all hope lost, home scattered into the abyss. They've been the end.

Nausea wells through her. A hand slaps over her mouth, and she swallows thickly against bile crawling up her throat, fingers grazing the petals for a grounding force.

That's why she gathered these flowers—the panimeria, the cranes, and the alostria; the panimeria are for strength to withstand even the worst of challenges, the cranes are for eternal freedom, and the alostria are for deep bonds and connections. She wants to weave garland of panimeria and crane flowers to string onto the raft, and then smaller charms of panimeria and alostria to give to each of her friends. She'd thought about making wayfinders, but she suspects that it's what Kairi has been working on all this time, so she hadn't wanted to get in her way or show her up.

Something is coming, and it won't be pretty. Taiyou can't risk separation from the people who matter most to her. The thought of what's hers being stolen sickens her—almost angers her.

With a deep breath, she stills the almost unnoticeable tremble of her hands and gets to work.

They'll be fine. This voyage is going to be the biggest thing ever. They're going to see so much together.

 

It's supposed to be a good day. The raft has its final touches, it has a name, and as far as he knows, they have all the supplies they need. The weather is good, nothing unpredictable is on the horizon, and everyone is excited.

...So why does he feel like such garbage?

Up until yesterday, anticipation ravenously consumed his mind; and why shouldn't it? They've been planning this trip since they were practically children—ever since Taiyou ran up to he and Sora and shouted, _"I saved a shooting star!"_ It's only natural that the fact that they're finally achieving their biggest dream excites him like nothing else.

But now, instead of anticipation, anxiety is eating at his insides. He wants to go, and he wants to go _now._

As he's gotten older, their islands have shrunk; too small for his mind that finds new ways to unfold and push the boundaries of what's possible. Deep nights have witnessed him starting awake, gasping, grabbing at his throat and feeling like he _can't breathe_ because the oceans devour the shores until the water floods over everything, drowning him.

Lately, these kinds of dreams are more frequent. He hasn't bothered telling anyone because there's no need to. All they are is a reflection of his desires to get out of this place, nothing more.

This hunger didn't used to be so unquenchable. When had it changed into something so… _insatiable_ _?_ A shooting star landed on the beach and he declared to his best friend in the whole world that they would someday go see where it came from. It had been a promise that was both lighthearted and the most sincere thing in the world. It used to be because it would make him— _them—_ happy. When had desperation mutilated those wishes?

His cloudy, dark gaze stares in the direction of two figures on the docks, silhouetted against the dipping sun. He glances from the one standing to the one sitting, wild hair sticking every which way. Something creeps in his chest. He doesn't bother figuring out what it is, but it's been slithering in the pit of his stomach for a while now… tangling, growing, shackling around his heart.

He thinks he knows when.

Aquamarine eyes narrow at the pair of silhouettes. A phantom sweetness coats his tongue, thick and syrupy, and he restrains a gag. His mouth twists as he swallows forcefully, eyes screwing shut and showing him drippy stars.

Whispers echo in his ears and images flash behind his eyelids when they blink; an ocean trapped inside a door that has no knob, ready to flood the land, turn the sky upside down, and snuff out the sun. If the ocean swallowing him, swallowing _everything,_ means this is the chance to go, then he'll swim as far as he needs to.

And if that means he's _"changed,"_ then maybe it's time he adhered to those changes.

 

Nearly two hours of weaving in the island ambiance pass, but no one comes back to the _Excalibur._

Sunset is in full swing when Riku's charm is finally finished. Taiyou's fingers ache a little from the nonstop repeated weaving, but she already feels much better. Gingerly, she hangs the charms on a makeshift hook of the mast and then steps back to admire her work. The garland had taken the longest to finish, but now it's beautifully woven around the mast and along the sail with care, petals and leaves dancing in the breeze. Pride blooms in her chest and smile.

It was probably for the best that no one had come back so she could work without distraction, but now, just about fed up, Taiyou leaves to search for them. She expects to be dragged into an impromptu game of hide-and-seek, but it turns out that they aren't that hard to find.

Kairi and Sora are on the docks, but they're too far away for her to see what they're doing. Have they been there this whole time? They better have finished all their work; night is coming on soon. Riku is her next target, and she doesn't expect finding him to be as easy—but it is.

Taiyou pauses as she sees him hurrying towards the shack, body angled like he'd come from the docks. She doesn't move and waits for him to emerge from the upper door. His footsteps are heavy on the bridge overhead, and when she moves to watch more, he ends at the ledge of the paopu island, looking towards the sea.

_Wonder if he's still in a bad mood._

She decides to check on him instead.

"Gonna practice your diving skills?" she asks upon approaching. He doesn't acknowledge her, and she peers over the ledge into the water. "Kinda shallow here. We could go cliff diving instead." She jabs a thumb towards the cliffs on the other side of the island.

When he still doesn't respond, she scowls. "Hey, don't ignore—"

"What do you _want_ , Taiyou?"

His tone _states_ it, cold and harsh. Her brows pull down in disbelieving offense.

 _"'Scuse_ me, jerk," she snaps, "what the heck's your _problem?_ You've been in a pissy mood ever since you lost to Sora. I knew you were a sore loser, but I didn't think it was _this—"_

Every ounce of her courage almost isn't enough to stop her from blanching at the utterly _wrathful_ glare Riku shoots at her. As if catching himself, he clicks his tongue and turns away to head for the shack. She gawks; where had he learned to make a face like _that?_ Shaking off the stun, she spins around too.

"Hang on a sec," she calls before racing over to another of the nearby trees. She digs into the surrounding bushes and pulls out the wooden weapons she, he, Kairi, and Sora crafted and fixed up since they were kids. "If you got a problem, let's duke it out."

That does make Riku pause, but then he snorts and continues. She glares at his back.

"What, _scared_ I'll beat you?" she taunts. He comes to a full stop this time and actually turns.

"Yeah, right," he says, rising to the bait, "last time I checked, I had more wins than anyone else on the island."

She tosses one of the swords at him. "Then I think it's about time someone knocked ya down a few pegs, huh?"

Snatching it out of the air with a sharp grin, he joins her again. "If there was someone who could do it, I doubt it'd be _you."_

 

Surprising no one, Riku ends up victorious—but only marginally. They could've drawn, or Taiyou might've come out on top, but whatever had been spiting Riku _really_ fueled him. The duels had started out borderline _brutal,_ but eventually wound down to something less vicious. Seeing as he clearly needed it, she can't find it in herself to hold it against him (even when she's a bigger sore loser than he could ever be).

The sun is three quarters sunk into the horizon when they call it quits. Neither of them say anything as they drop against the base of the paopu tree and cast their weapons aside. Taiyou tips her head towards the sky.

"Not gonna be nosy," she says after a moment, still catching her breath, "but I'm sure it's cool. Whatever's buggin' you, I mean."

He heaves a great sigh to show he doesn't want to talk about it and gazes out, seeing farther than the ocean stretches.

"I'm ready to get out of here," he confesses. "I've been ready… Ever since you told us that was a door. Ever since Kairi came here…"

At the mention of the door inside the cave, Taiyou tenses slightly. They've all thought about it—opening it and what might be on the other side of it—but Riku's interest has always been the most keen. It's never bothered her before, but the night terrors have spun an entirely new side of it, one she's got no interest in exploring ever.

Pushing all of that aside, she says, "We all are. And we're gonna. All four of us. And it's gonna be great."

Riku doesn't respond.

 

They rendezvous when the lanterns light up. Everyone is tired, but any sourness that might've remained faded away with the sun.

"Looks like this is it," Riku says, admiring their work.

"I can't believe we actually did it…" Sora marvels, eyes glittering. "This is gonna be _awesome."_

"Did you finish your project, Kairi?" Taiyou asks.

Kairi grins and puts a finger to her lips. "I'll bless the raft tomorrow, okay? But I see you finished your _rerepua."_ Her hand ghosts along the floral length of the garland wrapped around the mast of the raft.

"Sure did! Wouldn't be a proper voyage if we didn't have a voyage wreathe." Taiyou grins back, thumbing the side of her nose. "And here, I got something to give you guys." She enthusiastically plucks the charms of panimeria and alostria flowers, strung together by vine and twine, from the mast hook. "Here, hold out your wrists!"

Three lanterns join a fourth wriggled into the sand as their owners do as told, curious. Trying to contain her excitement so her hands won't fidget, Taiyou ties the charms to their wrists.

When she finishes tying her own, she holds out her wrist and encourages a follow in suit. "There! Now, no matter what, we'll make it through the hard stuff, and then if we ever get separated, we'll always be connected to each other, and to the islands!"

Riku holds his down to the yellow glow of the lantern. "You made us _kanonga?"_

Sora adjusts his. "But aren't these for like… married couples—or life partners, or something?"

Kairi puts up a smart finger to explain. "They're not only for life partners! Friends and siblings can exchange them too." She points at the flowers. "It's all about the flowers you use, you know. These flowers are for," she hums thoughtfully, "strength," she points at the panimeria, "and devoted bonds," she taps the alostria.

"Look at you!" Taiyou nudges her in the side with a grin.

"A regular native," Riku agrees, finally smiling. He then sighs heavily, as if wearing the kanonga is a chore. "All my friends are saps."

"You're lucky I picked bracelets to make—I almost made _chokers,"_ Taiyou jams a threatening finger at him.

"Trying to collar us up?" Riku snarks. "It'd be just like you, _aba he'ke."_

Taiyou gasps in offense, and Kairi elbows him in the side.

"Not cool, Riku," Sora says, scowling, but Taiyou starts laughing.

"You sound like the elders! They always call me that…"

Sora points a thumb at Riku, "S'okay! They always call Riku _whakaeni_ _piboke_ behind his back."

Riku scoffs in his own offense, and they laugh some more.

"For what it's worth, I don't think neither of you are greedy or haughty," Kairi giggles, leaning on them, "and you don't look like peacocks or octopuses—but those might make good costumes for you."

"Oh, yeah?" Riku asks, bumping hips with her. She yelps, and then runs around him, dodging between Taiyou and Sora as he begins to chase her.

"Save me!" She squeals. "Save me from the wild peacock!" She wrangles Sora and Taiyou to be her human barrier between she and Riku, and he practically bowls into them. The four topple into the sand, screeching with laughter.

"Man, now I got sand everywhere…" Sora complains, arm flopped onto the back of Riku's head as his hair crowds Kairi's face and his legs tangle with Taiyou's. "It's in my butt!"

"You're not special," Riku scoffs, forehead practically buried in Kairi's collar while his arm is slung across Taiyou's neck. "I can feel it scratching at my stomach…"

Kairi heaves a massive sigh, wriggling between the others and blowing Sora's hair out of her face. "I think the sand's like, the one thing I'll never get used to," she admits.

Taiyou tries to wrench her arm out from under Riku's chest as her legs trap his and Sora's. "Trust me, no one ever does."

Eventually, Riku rolls over and plants himself between Sora and Kairi. Laying side by side, they all gaze into the night sky. Kairi's hand creeps to push fingers between Taiyou's, her other one going to Riku's. Their fingers curl around each other, and Riku pulls theirs up to his chest without thinking about it, grabbing Sora's and doing the same until they're touching.

They lay like that for a long while.

"...It wouldn't be so bad if we never found anything," Kairi suddenly says, softly, "that just means we can come back here."

Riku's eyes close, brow twitching. Sora's eyes roam the sky, feeling the fingers between his tighten just slightly.

"Sure would be nice though," he responds, "to find something, I mean."

Taiyou hums. "Yeah… But if we don't come back, at least we'll always have the islands with us." She lifts her wrist towards the sky, the silhouette of the kanonga outlined clearly by the stars. Kairi follows suit, and then Sora, and finally, Riku.

"They're super pretty, Tai," Kairi says before hugging Taiyou around the waist. "Thank you."

Warmth tickles from her cheeks down to her neck. "No big deal."

Sora waves his wrist around. "But it is! These are super cool. Between Kairi's work, your charms, Riku's smarts, and my… uh… My…"

"...Spunk?" Riku offers sarcastically, breaking his hold with Kairi and Sora. Sora sits up and sticks his tongue out at him.

 _"Anyway!_ This is gonna go off without a hitch."

Tired but all grins and subdued cheer, they help each other up and make their way towards the docks.

"We set out at dawn," Riku says as he unties their canoe. "Make sure you have everything you need. We're not coming back if you forget something."

 _"So-ra,"_ Kairi and Taiyou chorus accusingly.

"Hey!" He scowls as he gets into his own canoe. "I'm gonna be the one laughing when it's one of _you_ who forget something!"

Taiyou is last to step in behind Kairi and looks back up at Riku; another direction captures his attention. She follows the line of sight and sees that it ends at the hidden entrance to the cave. Her stomach flips.

"Riku," she says, hoping no nervousness colors her tone.

Whatever trance he's in, he snaps out of it quick. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

He settles in, and he and Taiyou begin to row. Sora and Kairi speak animatedly about tomorrow morning across their boats, pulling her in too. She tries her hardest not to notice how Riku keeps glancing back towards the island.

 

_Draft… Strong… Cold…_

She rolls over again and again, limbs wriggling to catch onto more blankets to drag onto her body. It's _cold._ Why is it so cold? Her body curls in on itself to recycle heat, but to no avail. She squeezes her eyelids, frustrated and uncomfortable. Her wrists cross in front of her chest, pressing, but that's where it's _coldest._

_What time is it…_

Before she can pry an eyelid open to look at the glowing sun-shaped clock on the wall adjacent to her bed, the whole world quakes. Images flash in the blackness of her vision— _The door, a keyhole, opened—_

Taiyou starts, entirely awake in an instant. Her chest is _freezing._ She whips her head towards the window and immediately has to duck because the window doors are flying back and forth in the gusts.

"A _storm?!"_

The forecast had said nothing about a storm! The ocean had been calm yesterday!

"Oh no, the raft!"

Fighting against the ice spreading in her veins, Taiyou wrenches out of bed and shoves her body into clothes. The duffle bag she had prepared before going to sleep lays discarded by the foot of the bed as she climbs out of the window, hacking her lungs up. Why is it so hard to _breathe?_

She races down to the beach below her house and rubs at her eyes to get a better look at the island in the distance. Darkness swirls in the sky and the ocean waves crash violently against the cliffs and shores. This is _not_ good sailing weather, but what choice does she have? Kids are taught to row in a storm in case of an emergency, and now looks like the time to put those skills to use.

Winded, she unwinds a boat and sets off.

_I got a bad feeling about this…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> translations:  
>  **rerepua:** _voyage wreath_  
>  **kanonga:** _bond of flowers_  
>  **aba he'ke:** _greedy octopus_  
>  **whakaeni piboke:** [vah-KEH-nee] _haughty peacock_
> 
> hopefully the context already helped you know what these things meant, but if not, here!
> 
> i spent . . . two (2) weeks editing this chapter . . . .... if i don't put it up now i never will


	4. born in the ocean, lost in the depths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kairi enjoys people-watching but gets a little more out of it this time than she bargained for, and Taiyou's nightmares come to life.

Kairi considers herself a good child. Sure, in a lineup of kids in trouble, she can be found squished between a sheepish Sora and a barely-containing-her-laughter Taiyou, but it's usually not her fault. To be fair, her friends' shenanigans are too good _not_ to get involved in, but other than that, she rarely does things herself that her parent's wouldn't like. Being the mayor's daughter and all means knowing better than being too wild or rebellious (which actually just means that her rebel behavior just has to be… _sneakier)_.

But.

When anticipation tapes her eyelids open and leads into her into seeing something interesting, temptation grips her.

The cool (useful) thing about living near docks is that Kairi can often see people come and go so long as she gazes out the window, usually without being spotted. She sees a lot of things she isn't supposed to that way, but even as weird a habit as people-watching is, sometimes small rewards are served.

Like now: Riku is hurriedly unfastening his canoe from the line of boats moored at the docks.

She stops playing with the vines of her new kanonga to open her mouth opens and call out to him, but she thinks the better of it; he moves like a man on a mission, and she's curious about what that is. Where can he be going so late at night?

So… She climbs out the window. No one has to know. She'll be back before anyone can miss her.

  


Despite popular belief, Kairi _can_ keep up with her more athletic friends. She just prefers to sit back and watch them have fun because their smiles and happiness are the light of her life. Riku is easily the crown of the boys in his year, so by the time Kairi gets into her boat, he's already more than halfway to the play island.

Thunder rumbles in the distance, quickly drawing a frown to the waves: they're choppy. Had the forecast said anything about storms? She doesn't remember—not that it matters all that much; years of island-living have taught her that forecasts are best guesses at most and the weather does what it wants a lot of the time. Fortunately, since this particular trip is long-since embedded into her muscles, her rowing won't be affected too much and she won't need the guidance of the stars.

Riku's boat is already secured when she pulls up to the dock. Playing it on the safe side, she carefully pokes half her head over the platform to check if he's in sight—he wouldn't tattle like other kids had on her "spying" tendencies, but he probably wouldn't like being spied on himself—and sure enough, the island is empty.

Nimble, Kairi gets out of her canoe and ties it up with deft fingers, checking over her shoulder all the while to make sure he doesn't pop out.

The dock is already creaking in the heavy-handed weather, but she pulls off her shoes anyway to mute her weight over it. She stops at the bottom step and peers at the sand.

Imprints are definitely there and definitely resemble the undersides of Riku's shoes, though the wind picking up has softened their ridges. She steps off the whining stairs and begins to carefully navigate. They don't head towards the _paopu-mouku_ like expected of the place everyone tends to drift when they need to think, but when she looks towards the isle and the bent tree, it's empty in the darkening night. Instead, the footprints head for the driftwood ramp.

Lightning flashes far out at sea. Kairi glances over her shoulder towards the approaching storm, and spurred by the sight, she begins tracking the footprints. Their path is already familiar.

Sure enough, they trek up the second driftwood ramp and sneak around the ginormous tree that serves as the island's center base. Kairi climbs through and around giant roots and thick flora that leads to the marohu; the cave. Sand gives way to stone, worn down by years and years of kids crawling over it. She gets to her knees, but pauses at the sound of voices drifting out of tunnel. Blinking, she leans in.

One of the voices is Riku's, unmistakable in its confident timbre, but—she all but sticks her head into the hole—there's one more…? Or is that… two more? Distance and echos blend the voices together, fuzzing the words until they're indistinguishable, so no matter how hard she strains her ears, eavesdropping is useless. Who else could be in there? There aren't any other boats at the docks.

She waits, and the voices eventually stop. She anticipates the telltale scraping across stone of Riku crawling out, but silence reigns over stretching minutes. The oncoming storm creeps closer and closer; if they stay much longer, they'll be marooned on the island until it passes. Kairi then resolves to get Riku, not caring what he's up to—storms like this are unkind; the ocean rises in tandem with the sky's furor and washes the shore in attempts to drag any strays back into its depths. Taiyou's dad always said these kind were reminders that what is born in the depths can drown there too.

Thunder cracks _way_ closer than before, and chills shoot up her spine as she gasps, looking at the sky. Thick clouds barrel in, like watching a time-lapse, and dread grips her heart. She has to get Riku _now._

But a ground-shaking creak chokes her determination—was that a _door?_

One thought immediately jumps in front of the rest:

_Riku opened the door._

Equal parts of astonishment and horror steal her breath. Several questions rip their way to the front of her mind; namely: _The door can actually open?_ and _How the heck did Riku open it?_

Lightning snaps in the sky and thunder bangs right on its heels, muting her startled shriek. Her head whips upwards. The storm has arrived, harboring blustering winds with it—the window to return to the mainland has closed. Kairi's heart begins to pound in her chest. The air tastes like disaster.

Dread begins as a flicker; small, inconsequential, easily suppressed—until it isn't. Until it surges forward, flooding her stomach with ravenous fluttering insects and swelling up through her chest with sea water. She gags on it, palms slapping over her mouth as the ocean turns thick in her throat, sickeningly salty on the back of her tongue. The sensations are so strong that black spots dance in front of her eyes.

Nausea has stolen her almost so absolutely that the noises coming from the tunnel nearly escape her attention—the telltale scraping across stone.

She doesn't know why, but Kairi quickly scuttles away and buries herself in the fauna between the crawlspace and the waterfall to the left. The noise is _so_ significant that she can hear it over the howling wind, and the fire to confront Riku had died into ashes… so she hides. The louder the scraping, the sicker she feels. It's like it _grows_ the closer Riku gets, and she knows he's going to appear any second.

Her hands are duct-taped over her mouth to choke back the bile threatening to burn right through her esophagus, and she's actually _thankful_ for the gust covering her whimpering. _Scared_ of Riku? No. Never. She's _not._ But why does she feel so sick suddenly now that he's within arm's reach?

And he is. She can see him through the thick, large leaves undulating at the wind's mercy. He's standing tall, chest puffed, fists curled in determination, head angled at the dark sky. His face is turned away from her, but satisfaction rolls off him in waves as strong as the tide that will rise soon.

Between the leaves, she watches him hurry away from the tunnel and towards the shore, but the suffocation doesn't follow, still emanating from her right. His back shrinking towards the ocean dredges up sudden fear that he'll be caught by the tide and dragged under, never to be seen again, and she almost leaps up to cry his name. Nausea straps her down and stifles the cry, only letting her sway until she's leaned on an overgrown tree root.

This sick feeling… It's not coming from inside her, she doesn't think, but it's like a thick layer of… grime? Anxiety? Of _something_ on her skin, and she looks at the tunnel. Does this have something to do with the door?

She looks back towards the shore. Through the whipping fauna, she can still make out Riku's silhouette, but it's blending into the encroaching darkness that deepens every second. Her heart pounds in her chest, beckoning her towards him, yet her mind yanks her towards the cave. Dizzy, she screws her eyes shut and presses the heels of her palms into her temples.

 _Okay,_ she takes a deep breath, _Okay. Riku first. Door second._

Steeling herself, Kairi staggers out from the bushes and leaves and searches for Riku, frightened at the idea that he might've fallen into the water. She nearly calls out his name but thinks the better of it; there's no being heard over this storm.

She practically stumbles into the seaside shack's walls, ready to go in, but then she spots him at the raft. His silver hair glints sharply when lightning flashes, and it startles her again when it looks like someone completely different—but it's only Riku, lifting stupid-large stones to hold down the raft.

That's… normal? Surprisingly, after Kairi feels like she's already weathered the spontaneous storm. Relief ticks up a little, but then she remembers the cave, the _door._

She can't help it—and really, who can blame her? No one can lie: of _course_ they've all thought about opening the door to see what's inside.

Almost in a trance, she begins to wobble back towards the cave.

Riku (and Sora, always Sora, who didn't know he looked at Riku like he was the North Star) believed it'd take them to new worlds, and it's not like anyone could prove him wrong. Taiyou used to want to open it too, Kairi thinks as she climbs the ledge and drops to her knees in defeat. It's almost magnetic. And then Taiyou began having nightmares, began drawing strange things on the cave walls… began telling the door to stay closed when she thought no one was listening.

Kairi would be fine with it never opening. She would be fine with never leaving the islands. This is home for her now.

Her knees ache more than usual as she crawls. The sludgy feeling thickens the closer to the other side she wiggles. The mind that led her here is now split in two: one part begging her to turn back, that this is dangerous and she doesn't know what she's getting into; the other part urging her forward, daring her to see the prize hidden behind that door.

She pushes to her feet, finally on the other side of the tunnel. Her body seems to move of its own volition, and though her eyes are zeroed in on the door, sharp white lines gleam in her peripherals, like the lines of all their childhood drawings are popping off the wall. She can't get a grip on herself, feeling like strings are wrapped around her limbs and someone is dancing her. Gravity has stationed itself as the door, _in_ the door, and she can't stop—

  


Taiyou isn't the first to arrive at the island—two other canoes are moored at the dock, and by their decoration and paint job, she automatically knows they belong to Kairi and Riku. They're both responsible, maybe they've made sure the raft is okay!

The trip here had been a _nightmare_. The waters are vicious and almost capsized her _three_ times. The fact that any of them are even able to get here in this storm— _That wasn't even predicted, by the way!—_ is a testament to their skills as seafarers taught under island tradition, but she hopes to the stars above that Kairi and Riku made it here safely. She knows that the moment Sora discovers what's going on, he'll dash this way too.

Hands frantic, she ties her canoe to the wavering dock and throws her arms up against the bluster threatening to sweep everything away. She runs as hard as she can across the beach, latest injuries stinging with the flying sand in the air. She trips and slams up against the ridge that holds one side of the bridge that leads to the paopu-mouku.

Her hand flies to her chest. Numbness is quickly setting into her limbs, and the culprit can only be the coldness growing inside her. She perseveres.

When she finally makes it to the other side of the paopu isle, relief floods her at the sight of the _Excalibur._ Someone already got here before her because it's weighed down with some of the biggest stones she's ever seen. It must've been Riku. She stumbles onto the raft and throws her arms around the mast in order to stay straight, struggling to be careful of the rerepua. Her hair slaps her face and she forces her eyes to stay open and search for anyone else.

"Riku! Kairi!"

Violent gales swallow her calls, and the air cracks with a lightning bolt that stops a second attempt. She gasps, and her unfeeling legs buckle under her. One arm wraps around her midsection while the other clutches at her chest; why is it so _cold?_ It's like someone chucked her into the coldest freezer to ever exist; her internal body temperature is at painful, stinging odds with the weather outside, with the crackling in the air and the overbearing suffocation of the sky falling down.

 _Something's gotta be wrong,_ she thinks between wheezes, fingernails digging so deeply that they claw against her skin. Her head snaps up in a single direction, eyes wide. _What if it's—! No!_

Mustering every ounce of strength, Taiyou pushes herself off the ground with strained grunts. Heaving, she begins to clumsily make her way to the only place she can think of that would be the trigger of chaos like this.

Every step is more excruciating than the last, impeded by the blindingly flashing sky and violently lashing wind. Chills snake through her veins, thickening in an effort to drag her down to the earth. She trudges on despite this. Despite the sand turning to quicksand, despite every muscle in her body _screaming_ at her to drop and curl up, desperate for any miraculous warmth, she forges forward.

After the most torturous eon of her life, Taiyou collapses onto the ridge that leads to the hidden tunnel. Her cheek flattens against the gritty ground and the grass against her skin feels more like blades than plants. She squeezes her eyes shut and sobs once, just to get it out of her system, and then with a ferocious grunt, heaves herself up onto the ledge. Agony splinters through her body, and half of her wants to scream while the other begs to pass out.

Fuzzy stars and static swim in her vision as she crawls on her belly, yanking strength from inside that she didn't know she had. Pure instinct begins to take over at some point, dragging her through the tunnel as she's done so many times.

When she finally, _finally_ emerges on the other side, she slumps against a nearby protruding tree root. Thick black blurs around the edges of her eye sight, but she sees it— _the door._

And it's _open._

Adrenaline _explodes_ through her. She shoves off the ground and throws her entire body at the door. It's her nightmares come to life; no matter how hard she pushes or digs her feet into the ground, it refuses to budge. If it stays open like this, there's no telling what could happen! So she drives and shoves and yells and begs any great deity above to give her the strength she needs to overcome this.

Her prayers go unanswered.

But it doesn't stay silent.

The earth shakes. A scream resounds in her ears. Her eyes widen.

_"Kairi?!"_

She jerks her head around the cave, _knowing_ that scream was nearby. Had it come from outside? No, the gales are too blaring for a scream to travel like that. It had to be closer. Her eyes dance to every nook and cranny of the cave, but it couldn't have come from here, either—no echo.

Her chilled heart drops.

Her head stutters in its turn as her body slackens against the immovable door. It tilts, and her eyes widen.

Kairi is inside the door.

_"KAIRI!"_

Taiyou stumbles into the door's opening but freezes the moment her foot passes the threshold. Her hand flies to her chest and she shouts out, eyes clenched closed.

 _No,_ she gasps, prying one eye open to train on Kairi, _this ain't gonna STOP ME!_

Yelling, Taiyou forces her way inside the abyss but nearly collapses the moment she does. The pressure and miasma in the atmosphere are _crushing._ Her vision starts to darken as every part of her feels like someone dropped huge boulders on them, but her hand throws out in Kairi's direction, and she shouts her name again.

But it gets darker…

and darker…

and darker…

…

…

…

_Not yet, kid!_

From Taiyou's wrist, light bursts to life and floods her vision. Gasping, she looks up and through the thick darkness, another light gleams like a beacon.

_Kairi!_

Drawing strength, Taiyou gets up. The light surrounding Kairi begins to shrink and suddenly, bizarre orbs of glowing yellow manifest around her; first, only a few, and then a second later, an entire _wall_ of them appears. Her brain screams, _Get away! Danger! DANGER!_ but her heart insists, _KAIRI! KAIRI! KAIRI!_ and is the force to win in the end.

Forcing life into her legs, Taiyou begins to run. The effort feels fruitless at first because the distance hardly closes—but the number of yellow orbs multiplies, swarming and stacking and closing in on Kairi. It becomes the only motivation Taiyou needs. She breaks into a sprint only ever reserved for track meets and splits through the stifling darkness.

"Kairi!"

Her voice carriers and fuels the light between them, and Taiyou can _see_ them—round little heads carved into by two yellow orbs, attached to a jagged body, and they're _black._ Black as shadows. There are _thousands_ of them, but she doesn't have time to focus on that.

The shadows rapidly pile between them, devouring Kairi's light, and Taiyou has no choice but to jump.

"Kairi, can you hear me?"

"Taiyou!"

Her voice sounds panicked but brief relief flickers in Taiyou that she's still conscious.

"I'm coming, okay? Just hang on! I'm coming, and we'll get the heck outta here!" She pants and grunts while having to dodge and leap over the persisting shadows getting in her way.

"I can't see you!" Kairi cries.

"Can you see my light?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I can see it!"

"Follow it!"

Over the disturbing droning that Taiyou can only assume comes from the shadows, footsteps echo throughout this dark dimension.

 _You can't stay here much longer,_ a voice says to her, but she can't afford to stop in the shock of hearing it. _You'll be swallowed and spit out in a place where light doesn't exist._

 _Yeah? Well I don't plan—_ She leaps— _on—_ She rolls— _setting up shop!_

Taiyou flies over the top of a wall of shadows, and suddenly her light collides with Kairi's. Their hands immediately reach for each other, fingers lacing tight.

"You're here!" Taiyou exclaims.

Kairi is near tears but grasping for her too, smile frantic. "I'm here! How did you find me?"

As if realizing it for the first time, Taiyou raises her wrist, looking at the kanonga in surprise. Kairi mirrors her, and they glow brighter together.

The shadows begin to converge on them, absorbing their combined light. Taiyou's head whips around for her eyes to shoot in every direction.

"I have no idea, but I know we gotta get the heck outta here!" She bounces on her toes, hurriedly searching for an escape. "Let's race, me n' you! We'll—We'll make a bet!"

_Bet._

That keyword dries the tears in Kairi's eyes just a little.

"Loser has to buy the winner desserts for a week!" she says quickly, and Taiyou throws out her arm. Kairi grips it at the elbow and vice versa.

"Deal!"

Despite calling the chase a race, their hands interlock so tightly that neither can feel their fingers.

"On my count," Kairi says, shaky because the shadows are creeping closer. "Three… Two… One… _GO!"_

They sprint. Neither of them have any idea where they're headed, but they sprint forward. Behind them is the distorted sound of a rising wave, every second closer to drowning them. Kairi refuses to look back, but Taiyou makes the mistake of doing so—and what she sees isn't just any old wave to be conquered by a surfboard and stellar balance, no. This is a _tsunami._

"Oh man," Taiyou pants, "I sure frickin' wish... we had our boards… right about now."

"Do I… want to know?"

"No, just run!"

Splitting the darkness in the distance is a hole shaped like the door. Taiyou's eyes widen at it.

"I think… we're almost… there!"

Their hands clench together tighter and their pace picks up. The noise behind them has mutated into a roaring.

 _Please let us make it,_ Taiyou begs, _I'll never ask for anything ever, EVER again, just PLEASE—_

And then they trip.

Taiyou plants face-first into a ground she hadn't realized existed until her nose busts into it. Kairi yelps, tumbling down in front of her. Taiyou's head snaps up and back to see the wave of shadow and piercing yellow, and it looms over them like death, higher than any wave before it and curling like a fist ready to pound them into the ground. Kairi gapes in horror, frozen with fear.

 _Not her,_ Taiyou thinks, _Not her!_

Her body moves on its own. She throws her entire self over Kairi and curls around her.

_"WE'LL BE OKAY!"_

The tsunami slams down onto them.

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Like breaking the surface of water after a breathing contest, Taiyou gasps to life. Her hands immediately fly to her face, shielding her eyes from the blinding light radiating around them. She then realizes she has hands to use and begins frantically patting her body.

"We're alive," she breathes, astonished, "We're _ALIVE!"_

She then looks down. Kairi is still on the ground that no one knew existed.

"Kairi!"

She turns Kairi's body over and expects to see a conscious face—but horror strikes her to the core. There is no light in Kairi's eyes. Panic flares.

"Kairi," she says, gathering her into her arms, "Kairi! Wake up!" She shakes her, taps her face, tries everything she can think of to wake up a person—but to no avail.

_You have to leave here!_

Taiyou focuses on Kairi, still trying to wake her up, desperation coating coating her voice a little thicker with every shout.

_If you stay, you'll both be lost!_

"Kairi!" Taiyou sobs, curling into her. The protective light begins to dim.

_This won't hold out, you need to go._

_"I WON'T LEAVE HER HERE!"_ Taiyou screams, not even sure who she's screaming at. "No… No, I won't leave her here…" She throws her head up, seeing that the barrier is fading fast. Desperate, she clutches her wrist. "Show me the way back!"

The flowers of the kanonga begin to glow until particles like fireflies rise off them, and then a beam shoots with a brightness not unlike the one that led her to Kairi in the first place. Hope comes alive in her eyes. She's got no idea why it's doing this, but it's shooting in a very specific direction, and when Taiyou's eyes trace it, she sees the door again. She's not about to question this lifeline.

Exhausted and still chilled to the pit of her chest, Taiyou pants raggedly and pushes to her feet. Mostly running on adrenaline and _sheer freaking_ _wil_ _l,_ she heaves Kairi's lifeless body up and hikes it on her back. The weight squashes a groan out—Kairi isn't heavy but Taiyou is ready to pass out for a thousand years, no questions asked.

Once the might to go on is gathered, she adjusts her wrist to let the kanonga's light ray ahead. The light barrier protecting them fades almost immediately. Distorted chirping and humming fills her ears. She runs. Her limbs are nothing but jelly, but she runs harder than ever before. The swarm is in immediate pursuit; if it snags them again, she's got a feeling it'll be lights out for good this time.

The beam shines strong, leading towards the opening out of the darkness that gets bigger and bigger. Her legs pump, muscles burning, joints screaming, nerves flaring, but every step carries them closer freedom from this malignant place.

_Hang in there, Kai, I'll get us out of here!_

And with her final burst of energy, she leaps out of the darkness.

Then, the earth shatters beneath her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> translations:  
>  **paopu-mouku:** _paopu island/isle_
> 
> let's get this show on the roaaad


End file.
